Digital Diplomacy (Online Module)

This module addresses a crucial element of contemporary diplomacy and international affairs, the role of digital technologies in practices, processes and language of diplomacy. As such, it will respond to rapidly changing environments for diplomacy and international relations. It will ask whether, how and in which days does the use of digital technologies in public diplomacy, soft power, propaganda, influence and persuasion and link these questions to trends and changes in policies and decision making. In addition, it will adopt a holistic view of processes and practices, considering how both state and non-state actors are using the expanding digital spaces and platforms and what these mean for conventional understanding of diplomacy. Students will gain an interdisciplinary social science foundation, that brings together diplomacy and media scholarship to address different perspectives on digital diplomacy. By engaging with a series of key debates related to practice and principle as they will gain an understanding of the underlying processes which are shaping societies, polities, and economies in the digital realm. The module will provide students with an overview of the key topics that they need to be acquainted with as practitioners of digital diplomacy either formally or informally. It asks students to reflect on the skills that they have and the requirements to participate in digital modes of diplomacy. The module aims to introduce students to the complexities of digital diplomacy and unpack at least some of the key issues to help them navigate their way through the digital architect of the 21st Century. The readings in the module include a mix of seminal articles/work by academics from a diversity of disciplines as well as more contemporary policy papers, media reports and academic articles.

All modules are subject to availability and are subject to change from session to session.

Suggested reading

Olubukola, S. Adensian Foreign Policy in an era of digital diplomacy https://www.cogentoa.com/article/10.1080/23311886.2017.1297175.pdf
Alister Miskimmon, et. al (2017) (eds.) Forging the World, Strategic Narratives and International Relations. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press

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